United States Mission Geneva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Summary:

• Despite nearly half of Europe being in line to be infected with the Covid-19 omicron variant the World Health Organization states that it is too soon to treat Covid like an endemic illness such as the flu.
• World leaders such as Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez proposed tracking Covid similarly to the flu where testing would not be necessary for every individual presenting with symptoms and the virus would be seen as an endemic illness rather than a pandemic.
• WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, disagreed claiming it is too early to establish Covid as an endemic illness as that would require the virus to have stable and predictable transmission.
• Smallwood stated “We still have a huge amount of uncertainty and a virus that is evolving quite quickly, imposing new challenges. We are certainly not at the point where we are able to call it endemic. It may become endemic in due course, but pinning that down to 2022 is a little bit difficult at this stage.”
• WHO has also stated that continuous booster shots for the original Covid vaccine is not a viable strategy in preventing infection long-term.
• Uncertainty and mixed views of Covid have left the public confused, however a clear idea is presented when vaccination is seen to prevent severe hospitalization.
• One thing remains the same; vaccination, testing, wearing a mask, and isolation when infected can and have limited the spread and severity of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Advocates Urge Biden to Take Action to Close Guantanamo Bay Prison

• The prison which has earned a reputation of abuse and injustice outside the rule of law is being called on to be closed.
• Guantanamo Bay Prison has been continuously criticized for its use of torture, humiliation, and abuse as Mansoor Adayfi, a former inmate of Guntanamo, stated “Guantanamo is one of the biggest human rights violations of the 21st century…And also it is [abusive] to the American justice system, to the American people. Guantanamo hasn’t achieved any justice for anyone – not for the 9/11 victims, not for Americans, not for the detainees.”
• The prison established in Cuba to prevent detainees from the post-9/11 “war on terror” from enjoying the constitutional rights they would have had on American soil is still a human rights violation exactly 20 years after its establishment.
• Representative Ilhan Omar from the U.S. Congress has made her opposition to Guantanamo Bay obvious as she calls on President Joe Biden to close down the facility.
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Prominent Law Professor Released From Taliban Custody 

• Professor Faizullah Jalal, a longtime law professor at Kabul University, was detained and then released after 4 days by the Taliban this week for making provocative marks against the government. 
• Since the Taliban took over the Afghan government, Professor Jalal has made numerous television appearances, one of which went viral, criticizing the Taliban and blaming them for the worsening financial crisis in Afghanistan and ruling by force. 
• Taliban officials stated that Professor Jalal continuously posted comments on social media “trying to instigate people against the system” therefore, he was detained to teach others to not make similar comments in the future.
• Professor Jalal’s daughter Hasina Jalal, confirmed that her father was released after being detained for 4 days on “baseless charges.”
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Tunisian Press Syndicate States Political Parties Banned From Entering State TV Station

• According to the Tunisian Press Syndicate, the Tunisian State TV has banned all political parties from entering into their building for interviews or appearances going forward. 
• The ban apparently began when President Kais Saied seized power in what many consider a political coup.
• Tunisian Press Syndicate Head, Mehdi Jlassi, stated, “ Since July 25, there has been a political decision to prevent all parties from entering television … which is a very dangerous and unprecedented matter that seriously threatens freedom of the press and perpetuates individual power.” 
• The state television channel, al-Wataniya, denies the allegations of a ban and insists that all parties have been covered by the station.  
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Dutch Athletes Warned To Leave All Personal Devices At Home Before Traveling To Winter Olympics 

• To avoid Chinese espionage, Dutch athletes have been advised to leave all personal devices, including personal phones and laptops, in the Netherlands while they travel to China to compete in next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
• After consulting with the Dutch Intelligence and Security agency, Dutch Olympic Committee (NOCNSF) has warned athletes that the threat of cybersecurity has increased since China has completely closed off its internet. 
• All 30 athletes and their support staff will be equipped with devices that have never been used to ensure their data is protected from Chinese surveillance. 
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New World Bank Report Says Inequality Is Rising While Global Growth Is Slowing Down

• With COVID still spreading, and inflation and government debt at an all-time high, a new report from the World Bank shows economic growth decreasing across the globe from 5.5 in 2021 to an expected 4.1 in 2022. 
• The report shows that developed countries are lacking the spending power to kickstart economic growth after being hit hard by COVID, while undeveloped countries have no way of keeping up with rising inflation prices leaving them the last ones in the global supply chain. 
• With many developed countries buying out scarce goods, and with the threat of climate change causing severe weather, food scarcity in many undeveloped countries is affecting health and nutrition thus causing a widening inequality. 
• The World Bank calls for vaccine equality to ensure the pandemic is controlled and that countries should accelerate debt relief efforts to help low-income countries that are currently under economic stress. 
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